


#Appletini_103

by whiteroseofthemoon



Series: Seven Days [3]
Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, POV Original Character, Romance, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:40:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28633416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whiteroseofthemoon/pseuds/whiteroseofthemoon
Summary: A small sequel to “Seven Days to Lead Me Home”. But can be read separately. Original Male Character. Annie is already in DC, Jeff is still in Colorado. During her internship at FBI one of her fellow interns is interested in Annie more than he should be. OMC’s point of view.
Relationships: Annie Edison/Jeff Winger
Series: Seven Days [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2102259
Comments: 13
Kudos: 30





	#Appletini_103

Life of one Pete Turner was sweet. He was tall and handsome, he had a head full of sick brown hair and his body was nice and athletic. He just graduated Yale and his parents bought him a new car for the occasion. And now he was doing in internship in FBI, yes life was really good.

Being an intern at FBI was prestigious, it opened opportunities Pete was craving so much. His ultimate goal was to join FBI, of course, and make it to the top. But for now, he can just learn here and there, make necessary connections and have a little fun. The crop of this year interns was pretty boring and predictable, most of them came from elite universities and colleges, so Pete barely noticed any changes in his life. It was just like school, only in DC and it might give him a ticket to fulfil his ambitions. 

There was, however, one girl who was a little out of this place. Her name was Anna or Hannah or something like that. Apparently, she was some kind of a prodigy. She came from a small community college in Colorado which was very weird. If she was, indeed, so smart and talented as everybody was saying, she should have gotten a scholarship after high-school, right? Pete was a little intrigued by that so he decided to keep an eye on this girl.

It wasn’t hard. She was very pretty, petite with long dark hair and huge blue eyes. She also seemed really sweet and quickly adaptable. In a couple of weeks, Pete learned that Annie, this what they really called her, was also fiercely competitive, professional and had an obvious desire to prove herself. He admired these things in people. He also realized that he was now attracted to her, which wasn’t surprising at all given all the things he knew about her. 

There was a little problem, however. Annie and him barely knew each other, they talked only once, during introductory seminar and pretty much kept their distance. She mostly worked in communications alongside with her roommate and Pete was enrolled into cyber crime. He also heard that she, apparently had some sort of a long-distance situation with somebody from Colorado. Not that it mattered much, whoever she was dating, he was miles away and she was here, so was Pete and if he asks her out, who knows what can happen? He didn’t even know how serious Annie was with her Colorado boyfriend. They could be on a verge of break for all he knew, she was after all, here on her own. But to be safe, he decided to check with her roommate first, just to test the waters, so to speak. So about four weeks after the beginning of internship Pete and Tracy, Annie’s roommate, were chatting in cafeteria and it was a perfect opportunity to pry a little.

‘Hey. Wanted to ask you something,’ after a couple of minutes of small talk Pete was on the mission. 

‘Sure, shoot,’ Tracy smiled at him.

‘It’s a bit awkward, but could you tell me if you know what’s Edison’s deal? Is she seeing anyone?’

‘Oh, man and here I was hoping for a cute guy to ask me out,’ Pete’s face fell a little and Tracy laughed at him. ‘Don’t worry, I am just kidding. And yes, sorry dude, but you are too late. Annie is definitely seeing someone.’

‘Really?’ Pete decided to play dumb in order to find out more. He had an unpleasant feeling in his stomach, perhaps he liked this Edison girl a little more than he thought. ‘I heard that she was here on her own.’

‘Yes and no,’ said Tracy eating a muffin. ‘Her boyfriend lives in Colorado, but from what I heard he is planning to move here as soon as they find a place. He was staying with us last week, I tell you that, holy crap, I get why Annie didn’t break up with him all distance and other crap considered. He is definitely something. So, sorry buddy, but she is taken big time.’

‘I see,’ Pete answered, his mood was now considerably worse.

‘Hey, don’t be upset, it’s not like this is such a big deal, there are plenty of girls out there.’

‘Yeah, you right, of course,’ nodded Pete absentmindedly. ‘I just thought she was kind of cute. Thanks for the heads up, though.’ 

‘Sure, I need to go now,’ said Tracy finishing her coffee. ‘Annie and I were assigned to help with files in the storage and if I am not there on time, she is going to freak out. See yah.’

‘Yeah, bye.’

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It’s been a few days and Pete still couldn’t shake off that unpleasant conversation he had with Tracy. Especially since yesterday, after he and Annie were working side-by-side all day. After spending the entire day together, he realized that she was even more appealing that he originally thought. Besides her professional qualities, she was also funny and sexy. Wow, he was really into this girl.

When they were assigned to work together, Pete’s first reaction was excitement. He would finally get the chance to spend time with Annie without giving away his feelings towards her. He knew she had a boyfriend and they were, evidently, quite serious, but still, you never know. He wasn’t about to stalk her apartment or ask her out, but he was a good-looking and funny guy and if something happened with them naturally, he won’t object at all. But then, when they were on a break Annie received a phone call. Her face changed immediately, from sweet but reserved expression it turned into pure giddiness, she smiled as if whoever called her was the best thing that happened to her. Pete had a pretty good idea who that was and it bugged him more than he wanted. 

‘Hey,’ said Annie picking up the phone. Her voice, already sweet, now was pure honey. She had a weird smile on her face, nothing like Pete ever saw before. He was trying to get every word of conversation, but since he could hear only half of it, it wasn’t that easy. ‘Yeah, don’t worry I am on my break…Haha, I am sure it will be fine…Of course, I miss you too!..Jeeeff, don’t be gross, I am at work and can’t talk about…Give me a sec. Hey, Pete, sorry, I have to take this call, I’ll see you in thirty!’ she stood up and left her seat at cafeteria, whatever this Jeff was telling her was, it way more important than their lunch. 

And now, Pete was in his apartment checking on Annie’s Instagram. He hasn’t done anything like that before. Usually if a girl turns him down, he can easily shake it off and move on to someone else. But there was something about Annie, he couldn’t quite put a finger on it. He has never met anyone before like this. 

He found her profile pretty quickly, Annie struck him as a sentimental type, so she would definitely have dozens of pictures of this Jeff guy, not that Pete cared that much, he just wanted to see what was so damn special about this Jeff, who could make Annie practically glow with one phone call. He opened her page and found hundreds of pictures on it. Most of them were regular chick stuff. A picture of Annie with a pretty blonde girl who seemed a little older, they were holding cats in their arms the hashtag said: 

#Britta_and_thecats_move_in_day<3  
Some selfies, a lot of aesthetic pictures of her on the beach or in the park, most of them hashtagged:

#Abed_thephotographer 

Some food pictures and pretty much other regular stuff with friends and family. But there were three pictures that stood out to him. 

First one was taken a couple of years ago, it was, apparently a college party of some sort, the place looked like a campus but the crowd on the picture couldn’t be more different from one another. There was an old man in glasses, a middle-aged black woman with curly hair, two younger, goofy guys, beaming at the camera, the same blonde woman he saw in earlier picture and Annie, wearing a crimson dress, next to her was a very tall man in grey suit hugging her tightly. He was clearly older than her, but movie-star handsome. Pete looked at the hashtag

#Greendale_Seven_Forever

, whatever that means. 

The second picture he found intriguing was from years ago, judging by the date, Annie must have been around nineteen at the time. It was Annie and the tall blonde guy covered it what seemed to be food, both Annie and the guy were grinning happily at the camera, it was clear they didn’t need much personal space. The hashtag said:

#JeffWinger_for_the_win! 

So, this man of a tower was Annie’s Jeff. 

The third picture, was the most unpleasant for Pete to see, it was the latest one. She posted it right before their internship began. It was Annie and this Jeff guy. It was a typical couple picture and it was clearly taken just recently. Annie’s hair was the exact length as it is now and Winger looked older and had a beard on him. They were hugging and looking at the camera, both had identical smiles of, what some people might call, bliss, the caption didn’t say anything except 

*heartemoji*

Pete was slightly confused, they clearly have known each other for a long time but Annie had only two pictures of them together, other pictures of Winger he spotted were in the same diverse group, sometimes there were others in the frame, like a bold guy in glasses for instance. Were they on and off or something like that? Was he her teacher at college? Was it even ethically acceptable for them to date?

Pete decided to go a little further and found Winger’s Instagram. It was painfully featureless. Mostly pictures of cars and nature, a couple snaps of the dogs, no people at all. Winger didn’t even have selfies or mirror pics, which was weird, because Pete felt a vibe of a guy who loves himself a little too much. The only real photo that Winger had, was the exact same one Pete found on Annie’s profile. The two of them together, embracing. There were no hashtags under, no text, just one word ‘annie’. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Pete’s mild obsession with Annie, now shifted into something else. If he was honest with himself, his crush was getting a little too strong. How did that happen? He barely knew her, yes, she was pretty and has a thirst for life he admired, but they were practically strangers and besides she was obviously in a relationship, however weird it is, it’s not like it was Pete’s place to say anything on the matter. He did a little research on this Winger man, apparently, he was a lawyer at some point but then was forced to go back to school for whatever reason, where after graduation he was working as a law professor. It didn’t make any sense to Pete. So yes, Annie and Jeff met when he was a student, but he still was 16 years older than her and had a clearly shady past! What did she see in him? Was it his looks? Somehow Pete doubted it, Annie didn’t seem like a shallow person to him. So, what was it?

Unfortunately, tonight he had his chance to find out. They had a small party in the bar for interns only, celebrating the fact that they successfully finished the first half of the internship. They were allowed to bring guests, so some people came with friends or significant others, Annie, of course, was with Winger. What the hell he was even doing here? Wasn’t he supposed to be in Colorado teaching or maybe seducing another young and impressionable student? He heard a whisper, that, apparently Winger is getting back to law and came to DC for the interview or something. Pete frowned a bit watching them sitting together, in a loveseat drinking and laughing, Winger was whispering something into Annie’s ear and she was positively glowing. She looked especially good tonight, in her red dress and with red lips, her hair usually sleek and all business was now in waves. Honestly, for Pete, she was the most beautiful woman in the room tonight and the most unavailable. 

Winger wouldn’t leave her side for one minute, his massive hand was on her waist drawing her in as close as it was humanly possible. If it wasn’t for other people, Pete was sure, they would be totally making out, this thought was like an acid for him. Annie, for her part, didn’t mind Winger’s clinginess one bit, in fact every once in awhile she would press a light kiss to his cheek or touch his face gently and Winger would close his eyes for a brief moment, clearly enjoying it a bit too much for Pete’s liking. 

This Jeff Winger did look impressively good for someone his age, Pete could give him that. He was really tall, taller than Pete who was almost 6 feet himself, he was clearly well built and knew how to carry himself. As for personality, at least glimpses of it, Pete was even more confused. OK, yes, Winger was a people’s person and everyone who was now at the bar with them, was kind of charmed by his sly speeches and jokes, especially women. But he was also overly sarcastic, somewhat rude and obviously loved to be the center of attention. But it seemed that Annie didn’t see that or even if she did, it wasn’t bothering her. 

In time that they worked together he learned that Annie was a go-getter, she was dead set on the truth, empathic and she was always trying her best to do the right thing. Winger seemed to be the exact opposite of it. How on earth, could these two people, who were complete opposites and had 16 years between them, be a couple? Was it a Stockholm syndrome? Was he stalking her since she was eighteen so she wouldn’t see any other options for her? 

Pete turned away, Winger was making another dumb joke and everybody was cracking up, he managed to enamour all their colleagues. Annie excused herself to the lady’s room tugging Tracy alongside with her, Pete noticed how Winger watched her every step with a heavy gaze. When Annie disappeared in the crowd Winger noticed that Pete was staring at him, in order to make it less awkward Pete nodded at him, to which Winger smirked unpleasantly and cheered at him with a glass of scotch. Pete was sure now that this Jeff guy saw his interest in Annie. 

A short while after Annie came back, the bar put on “Roxanne”, Pete never expected this kind of reaction from her to a song. In fact, he never heard her literally squealing with excitement. She bounced off her seat tugging mildly annoyed Winger by the sleeve on the dance floor, he clearly would have preferred to stay and keep drinking, but for whatever reason, he joined Annie. They started dancing, first Annie was goofing around, her dance moves were purposefully bad and for the first time Pete noticed a genuinely humane expression on Winger’s face. He was grinning at Annie with the same face expression Pete saw on their picture on Instagram. Shortly, he grabbed Annie’s hand to dance more appropriately, but he wasn’t upset with her goofiness or anything, in fact he cradled her cheek with gentleness that Pete was sure this giant, sarcastic man was incapable of and kissed her softly. He turned away, again, this was not something he wanted to see. 

After about half an hour Pete was at the bar getting another set of the drinks for everybody. While he was waiting for the order, he heard a familiar voice, it was Annie. Apparently, she and her boyfriend danced enough and decided to order something else too, great, just great. Pete hoped that Winger won’t see him, he didn’t want to explain why he was staring most of the evening at them. So, Pete turned away ignoring them completely, but he couldn’t help it, they were talking quite loudly clearly not caring if anyone might overhear them. Well, they were at the bar and a little tipsy, so it was natural. 

‘I can’t believe you made me dance in front all of your colleagues!’ he heard Winger’s slightly annoyed voice, but there was something else in it, Pete couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

‘Oh, come on, Jeff! This was our song! Remember how fun it was at Troy and Abed’s party?’

‘I remember how all of you made me go downstairs to grab pizza and when I came back you were all dancing like a bunch of goons,’ Pete expected Annie to be at least a little bit offended, since it was the least romantic thing he could say about ‘their song’, but instead she giggled. He never heard her giggling, laughing yes, but this was something new. 

‘You deserved it! Good thing Abed caught your bluff, I will never forget that fan hitting your head!’

‘Wow, wow and this is coming from a woman who is supposed to be in love with me!’ Pete’s heart sank. So apart from everything, they were in love. Damn it. 

‘I am,’ confirmed Annie happily. ‘But come on, Jeff, that was funny!’

‘All right, I give you that one, since today we are at your party,’ Winger’s voice softened. ‘Let’s order something, what do you want?’

‘I think I am in a mood for…’ Annie trailed off a little and then sighed happily clearly seeing something she liked on the menu. ‘Oh my God, they have an appletini!’

‘Annieeee!,’ Winger whined, Pete was more astonished by that, than anything else tonight. Who would have thought that this tall, obnoxious man can whine like a child. ‘You are absolutely going to destroy my reputation! Do you remember the last time you made me order this?’

‘You mean, when the bartender thought I was your wife?’ he heard another giggle. My God, they were like teenagers. Clearly this appletini business was somekind of inside joke between them.

‘Yes! After you tricked the entire hotel into believing I was your husband! And we were not even dating back then!’

‘So, what’s your point?’

‘My point is, that you are still making me order appletini and we are still not married! At least if we were, it would be less embarrassing!’ 

‘We will soon, you know that!’ Pete let out a small groan. Yep, his already slim chance with Annie, was completely destroyed today. ‘Pleeaaaase, I promise I will make it up to you tonight.’

‘Fine, but have no doubt I will hold you to the last part,’ Pete was sweating nervously, he did not want to hear that. Where the hell are his drinks? ‘One neat scotch,’ Winger took a deep breath, ‘and an appletini.’

Annie clapped her hands excitedly and giggled once again. He heard Winger saying:

‘What have I become? Remember, when I used to be cool?’

‘You are still cool!’

‘I am all sappy, thank you very much.’

‘Don’t worry, Jeff, I promise, I won’t tell anybody that you, in fact, possess a heart.’

‘Thank you,’ responded Jeff genuinely. The bartender finally brought Pete’s drinks, he grabbed them hoping to get away from Annie and her boyfriend as far as possible. He still didn’t understand it, but realized that there is no way he would ever be able to come between them, before he left, Pete heard last one bit of their conversation.

‘Here is your appletini, Milady.’

‘Why thank you, Milord!’

Yeah, he had no chances at all.


End file.
